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Thursday April 2, 2026 
24 November 2025
Andrew Saliba and Ben Kagan have brought their burger bar brand High N’ Dry to Neutral Bay, their third site in Sydney. The move marks the third act in a business story that began a decade ago.
The duo’s hospitality partnership initially started as a DJ promotion business. However, after proposing a burger event at a Paddington pub, the focus shifted: “It turned out the burgers were more popular than the DJs. From there we started doing pop-up events.”
This success led to the opening of their own dedicated venue, originally named “Down and Out.” The venture, which began as a popular pop-up in the Surry on Young Hotel before securing a permanent site on Liverpool Street in the CBD. They infamously were forced to rename the business to Nameless Bar after legal action from the US chain In-N-Out Burger. The combination of the lawsuit and the onset of COVID-19 ultimately led to the end of the initial brand.
High N’ Dry was subsequently born after the team partnered with Canvas Events. The first High N’ Dry site opened in Leichhardt, housed in an old Italian restaurant. Following a successful period in Leichhardt, the business expanded to a second location in Rosebery last year.
Building on their success the duo sought a new challenge, leading them to Neutral Bay. “Part of it’s just something different. We’ve never gone over the bridge. We love the area, which has a similar sort of demographic to Leichhardt,” Kagan explained.
Located at 4-6 Rangers Rd Neutral Bay, opposite the Woolworths, Kagan sees it is an ideal site “We like being off the main road. We don’t like being in the main areas. It’s sort of like a destination, a neighbourhood institution is what we aim to be rather than a big chain that’s opened up on main roads”
High N’ Dry is known for its curated menu, focusing on quality over quantity. Notably, they are bucking the smash patty trend. “We are doing a flame grilled Wagyu blend, beef patties and the flame grill just gives it that nice smoky, it’s a flavour that you just can’t get from the smash patty,” Kagan noted.
The classic single beef burger is their signature burger, with a wagyu beef patty, American cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion and their secret sauce. Customers can also order a similar style beef burger with the Cheesy or BBQ bacon.
Kagan’s current favourite is the Nashville Hot Chicken Burger, served hot or extra hot fried chicken, pickles, lettuce, red eye mayo with blue cheese or ranch sauce. The Porto burger is also a spicy delight, with peri peri sauce, cheese and all the standard toppings.
For non-meat eaters, the menu includes a Southern Fried Tofu burger and a deep-fried panko crumb mushroom burger. Popular sides include chicken tenders (classic or Nashville style) and house-made specialties like cheeseburger spring rolls and jalapeno poppers.
As a bar, High N’ Dry has 15 different craft beers available from New South Wales breweries, as well as a selection of spirits and local wines. They have a full liquor license meaning drinks don’t need to be served with food, a welcome development for the Neutral Bay bar scene.
The aesthetic combines the food with art, nostalgia, and pop culture influences from the nineties and early two-thousands. John Payne is the artist responsible for the in-house illustrations and animations, including the “little burger mascots” and pop culture hybrid cartoons. The site also features large-scale graffiti work by artist ‘Dizzy,’ with a brief to create a “bombed out subway” corridor aesthetic. High N’ Dry is definitely best enjoyed as a dine in experience.
